Kane, Bellingham and Foden can't play together - does the manager have a point?
With six wins out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.
Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.
"At the moment, if we stick with the system, they are unable to feature.
"It's possible but not in the structure, not for the balance that we developed and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."
From automatic picks to contested places
England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but his team selections indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.
So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?
Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.
Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.
In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have secured 10 victories, drawn three and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.
Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives
Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that changes shape when England attack.
The Aston Villa player has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and ability to attack the box when the striker drops deep.
Tuchel has mentioned preferring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and appear in scoring positions.
In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.
So how could Tuchel use these three players?
Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.
Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.
There is an alternative approach all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.
"With his club, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we regard him as a number eight," he said.
Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.
That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the advanced playmaker, next to a more defensive number six.
This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.
No matter whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.